Montana to Call Interim Bishop

The Diocese of Montana’s standing committee discusses its decision to extend the search for a successor to Bishop C. Franklin Brookhart Jr., who has announced his decision to retire:

Initially we thought that the search process could be completed with the election of a new bishop by Diocesan Convention in October, 2018. After further analysis and the realization of how much needed to be done, a decision was made to extend the search timeframe with the Consecration of our 10th Bishop on December 7, 2019, when the Presiding Bishop can be here. This will mean hiring a Bishop to serve part time as determined by the SC between the time Bishop Brookhart resigns Nov. 1 of 2018 and the election of our new Bishop. The SC recognizes the need to manage the search process to enable broad participation by congregations while keeping the financial, pastoral, and administrative resources of the diocese in mind.

The SC directed the deaneries to elect representatives to serve as the Nominating Committee. Over the next several months, this committee will be gathering information through qualitative research: in February and March we will conduct a diocese-wide survey; then we will conduct a series of listening sessions throughout the Diocese from April to June.